Hello from Colorado, need advice for my tree

[taylerhill]

Hello everyone! I am new to this forum and I have one bonsai tree, which I think is a Ficus. I bought it at walmart several years ago. It has been doing very well, but I would like to learn how to better care for it so that maybe it will get more leaves. It is currently in a plastic pot that doesn't have drainage and is using regular potting soil. This is the only photo I have of it right now (with Christmas ornaments on it). If anyone has any suggestions on how to get this tree to become fuller with more leaves I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[jk_lewis]

More LIGHT, Light, light!

 

[taylerhill]

Ok, I will find a lighter spot for it to sit. I had it sitting in a west facing window for a while but the leaves got sunburned so I moved it. Just a sidenote, the window you can see in the picture usually has the blinds up, but I took that picture at night which is why they are shut. But thanks for the input!

 

[skrit]

Ficus are extremely hardy, as you have found out keeping this one for a few years. In addition to more light which was already mentioned, be sure to remember than root health is mirrored in branch and foliage health/growth.

Please consider repotting your tree soon. When repotting, use a freely draining mostly non-organic potting medium (look around on the forum for soil discussions, there are many options, typically a mix is best). A pot with drainage holes is critical to improving the root health of your tree . If you need to, use a drip tray to protect whatever it's sitting on.

You will have to water more frequently, but the tree's roots will be able to grow and breath much more easily. When you are repotting, remove as much of the organic soil from the roots as you can without removing very fine (small white) roots. If you have any roots that are mushy and black, cut them off, they are rotten and it will slowly spread and kill your tree.

Good luck!

 

[drew33998]

You have an absolute plethora of great species of trees available to you due to your location. I would think about getting a native evergreen species to work with.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I would advise you do not eat the silver and blue figs growing from it.

 

[taylerhill]

Ficus are extremely hardy, as you have found out keeping this one for a few years. In addition to more light which was already mentioned, be sure to remember than root health is mirrored in branch and foliage health/growth.

Please consider repotting your tree soon. When repotting, use a freely draining mostly non-organic potting medium (look around on the forum for soil discussions, there are many options, typically a mix is best). A pot with drainage holes is critical to improving the root health of your tree . If you need to, use a drip tray to protect whatever it's sitting on.

You will have to water more frequently, but the tree's roots will be able to grow and breath much more easily. When you are repotting, remove as much of the organic soil from the roots as you can without removing very fine (small white) roots. If you have any roots that are mushy and black, cut them off, they are rotten and it will slowly spread and kill your tree.

Good luck!

Ok that is what I was wondering. I will find a better pot and look for a better soil as well. I will repot it this spring. Thanks for the helpful info!

You have an absolute plethora of great species of trees available to you due to your location. I would think about getting a native evergreen species to work with.

We have a ton of Juniper trees at our house, I would love to get a bonsai Juniper! I've never grown a bonsai outdoors, so that would be a fun thing to try!

I would advise you do not eat the silver and blue figs growing from it.

Lol no I do not think they would be very tasty. Probably a little gritty from all of the glitter lol

 

[drew33998]

If you find something interesting you feel up to collecting, post pictures and most will comment on how and when to go about collecting. You can also search the threads in the general discussion for things like "collecting junipers" or whatever species you are looking for. Just have fun right now and enjoy watching your plant grow and keep it alive. Good luck.

 

[taylerhill]

Here is a better picture of my Ficus that I took last night. The slight yellow that you can see on the leaves on the left side are what is left over from the sunburn it got while in my west window. But now I have it sitting in my east window so it can get the morning sun which isn't as intense as the afternoon sun.

 

[skrit]

Ok, I will find a lighter spot for it to sit. I had it sitting in a west facing window for a while but the leaves got sunburned so I moved it. Just a sidenote, the window you can see in the picture usually has the blinds up, but I took that picture at night which is why they are shut. But thanks for the input!

As a brief side note; sunburned leaves? Maybe others would like to weigh in. I think that a ficus like yours, a tropical plant that natively gets much stronger equatorial sun outdoors, is unlikely to get sunburned while inside behind glass in Colorado. Yellowing leaves typically indicate over watering, but in your case is likely due to your pot not having drainage holes resulting in your soil staying too wet.

I think that sunburn / scorch is normally brown and dried like this:

Again, I may be wrong, but I have a very similar ficus that went through the same thing (it's indoors under lights right now) maybe two weeks ago. (It's my largest tree, so often when my other trees need water it's still good for another couple days. I forgot to check it separately when watering the whole group and the next few days yellow leaves were everywhere!)

 

[Jester217300]

I agree. It's basically impossible for a ficus to get sunburned inside, possibly ever.

If the leaves got crispy and fell off is was probably under watered. Remember that the top and the bottom are linked, if the roots don't have enough water to support the foliage the tree will start sacrificing leaves in order to survive.

 

[taylerhill]

I just assumed it was sunburned, because just a few leaves, mostly the ones facing the sun, turned kind of yellow. They didn't get crispy or fall off though. And they didn't really look like the photo that was posted either. Also after I moved it from that particular window the yellowing kind of went away. And the yellow on the leaves wasn't even the whole leaf. It was just part of each leaf. But the yellowing stopped and has mostly gone away now that I moved it. And I will repotting it with better soil and a better pot this spring.

 

[Jester217300]

Yellowing leaves indicates OVER watering. Use a wooden chopstick in your soil to gauge how wet the soil is throughout the pot.

 

[edprocoat]

Actually light magnified through a window can burn leaves, add to that the dryness inside your home. Think of the dashboard of your car drying and cracking from the sun. If you do repot into a non organic mix then you will have to really up your watering schedule along with heavy use of fertilizer to replace what the tree is missing from your the lack of organics in the soil. Potting soil or soil with pine bark or other organics holds water longer than non organic soils which are basically rocks. Remember that any leaves that were allowed to rot into the soil added nutrients into the soil for the plant to feed on the same is true for pine bark chips as well as any good potting soil is nutrient rich, visible in the dark color of the soil. In a mix without organics that food has to come from your fertilizer. Use a good balanced fertilizer like miracle grow or vigoro 10-10-10 or 14-14-14 or 20-20-20 the 3 numbers being the same means its balanced. Speaking of free draining, does your pot have a drain hole on the bottom? It looks like a pot that may not have one which means you should replace it as with a non organic mix the water will just free drain to the bottom of the pot where it will sit and stagnate. If it does have a hole it will be fine.

ed

 

[skrit]

@ edprocoat

It is currently in a plastic pot that doesn't have drainage

 

[edprocoat]

Thanks Skirt I did not see that . The good thing is if he wants to keep the pot plastic pots are real easy to drill a hole in for drainage.

ed

 

[edprocoat]

On yellowing leaves there are no absolutes, it could have been burned or over/under watered. The leaves yellowing and showing veins similar to that picture of the Maple earlier generally means its suffering from Chlorosis which can be caused by a deficiency of Iron, Magnesium, Nitrogen or Proteins which would mean its not getting fertilizer or has soil PH where the minerals can not be absorbed by the roots. It could also mean water clogged roots or severely compacted roots or just damaged roots. This also happens from certain pesticides. I think after two years in a pot with no drainage (lucky to be alive) your soil has been robbed by the plant of all its nutrients and needs replaced, simply put all the food in the soil has been depleted.

ed

 

[taylerhill]

Just to show what I am talking about, here are the leaves that were affected. There were a couple more leaves that got it but they aren't as affected as these.

 

[milehigh_7]

Don't discount sunburn. People who don't live there don't realize how much stronger the sunlight is at altitude... That said, you are getting solid advice.

I miss Colorado so much! You are so lucky to be there and getting into bonsai. Whereabouts are you in God's country?

 

[taylerhill]

Don't discount sunburn. People who don't live there don't realize how much stronger the sunlight is at altitude... That said, you are getting solid advice.

I miss Colorado so much! You are so lucky to be there and getting into bonsai. Whereabouts are you in God's country?

Thanks! We live down near the 4corners